Child stars learn that growing up can be taxing

Apr 28th 2010

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It’s been a bad year for at least three child stars, even if they are still active in the entertainment industry. With the constant parade of celebrities making the news for unpaid taxes, it seems like fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Christina Ricci is accustomed to the spotlight. In 1991 when she was 11, she played “Wednesday” in the movie The Addams Family, and more recently appeared in After.Life. But some of the attention Ricci, now age 30, is getting is far less welcome. Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service slapped her with a federal lien for $179,568 for taxes on income earned in 2008.

To her credit, when Ricci’s representatives were contacted by reporters at TMZ.com, they said the actress is taking “immediate action to address it in a responsible manner.”

Another child star, Kel Mitchell also is doing battle with the tax man. In January, the IRS filed a lien with the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds against Mitchell’s production company, Lyric Cole Productions, in the amount of $91,373.

Mitchell became famous for his role on Nickelodeon TV show Kenan & Kel when he was a teenager. Now, at 31, he is still acting and doing some voiceover work, but The Detroit News reported that in recent years his annual income has fallen to approximately $40,000.

In March, court records show he filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing liabilities of more than $1.7 million, and assets of only $3,820. Most of his debt is connected with a $1 million property dispute and the related attorney fees of $700,000.

As a teenager, Corey Feldman starred in Stand by Me. Now he is 38, and the IRS is hot on his trail. On February 16th, the tax agency filed a lien against Feldman for $30,996 in the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds.

The Detroit News reported that Feldman recently made headlines of a different kind when his “silver screen soul mate” Corey Haim passed away from an apparent accidental overdose of drugs. Feldman and Haim, starred in a reality TV show called The Two Coreys. They also made a series of movies together in the 1980s, including The Lost Boys and License to Drive.